The Man at the Door
by Crittab
Summary: A seemingly harmless bit of mischief turns into real danger when Annie is targeted by a local creep.
1. Chapter 1

Title: The Man at the Door (1/?)

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: Creep factor, insinuation

Disclaimer: I don't own Community, yo

Summary: A seemingly harmless bit of mischief turns into real danger when Annie is targeted by a local creep.

* * *

**The Man at the Door - Part 1**

* * *

"Crap, I'm gonna be late," Britta said, realizing the time. She and Annie rarely had an opportunity to hang out one-on-one, so when Troy and Abed had gone out of town for an Inspector Spacetime convention, the women had quickly decided to make up for lost time. Unfortunately, that lost time also coincided with her cat's one year check in after his eye surgery, so she couldn't stay nearly as long as she wanted to.

"Oh," Annie said, a little sadly. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Hang on, I need to pee first!" Britta said, jumping from her spot at the table and bounding to the bathroom.

Britta immediately felt tense when she closed the bathroom door, which was odd considering how much time she spent there (at the Trobed apartment, not specifically in the bathroom). That feeling only intensified as she washed her hands. Britta knew she was occasionally dense and usually said the wrong thing, but if there was one thing she always trusted, it was her instincts. Years of travelling alone through foreign countries had forced her to make use of this skill, and it had come in handy more than once.

As she dried her hands, she started looking around, almost expecting to see a face in the mirror next to hers. It was bizarre how strong this feeling was, the sensation of being watched. Even from the third floor of the building, her stomach did flips as she peered hesitantly out the window. She was relieved, at first, that there wasn't some creep on a ladder, but she knew that was unlikely. She peered down into the parking lot below and that's when she spotted him—a guy standing a few feet away from the building, staring up at her.

She jumped back from the window, flinging herself into the bathroom door. Her heart hammered in her chest and her palms began to sweat. She'd known the moment she walked into the bathroom that something was off. Seeing that man staring up at her, while a shock to the system, was evidence that her hunch was right.

"Britta?" Britta jumped at Annie's voice on the other side of the door. "Are you okay?"

Britta fumbled with the door, desperate to get out of the room and away from his eyes, even though she knew he couldn't see her when she was away from the window.

"What's going on?" Annie asked as Britta clumsily emerged from the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her.

"Annie, I don't want to freak you out, but there's a really creepy guy outside," Britta explained, stumbling over her words. Annie's brow furrowed and she started toward the window to see. "Don't go over there!" Britta exclaimed.

"Britta, he's probably just another tenant," she said. "Besides, he's allowed to stand in the parking lot. It's a free country."

"But he wasn't just standing there, Annie. He was staring at me." Annie frowned.

"How so?" Britta rolled her eyes.

"I don't know, Annie, he just was, and it was creepy. I think you should come with me," she said.

"You want me to walk you to your car?" she asked. Britta shook her head.

"No, I think you should leave with me. I don't feel comfortable leaving you alone here." Annie offered a small, encouraging smile to her friend.

"Britta, I'm fine, seriously. If I let the first creepy guy I see scare me out of my apartment, I wouldn't have lasted a day in my old place with Spaghetti outside," she said. Britta looked sceptical. "I'm serious, it'll be fine. You go ahead and I'll watch you from the window, okay?"

"Can you at least call Jeff?" she asked. Annie shook her head.

"No," she said adamantly. "I'm not calling Jeff to come protect me from some random guy in the parking lot. The last thing I want is to give him a reason to think I can't take care of myself."

"Jeff won't think that..."

"Yes he will," she exclaimed. "Please, just... go take your cat to the vet. I'll be fine." Britta sighed.

"Fine. Just promise to call me if anything happens. Or Jeff. Or the police." Annie rolled her eyes and turned Britta toward the door.

"I promise," she said, in a tone that made it clear she would do no such thing. Britta grabbed her purse and took a cursory glance through the peephole before opening the door.

"You're watching me out the window, right?" she asked. Annie offered a small smile and pulled her friend in for a hug.

"I'm watching, and I have my cell phone if you want to have an open line." Britta smiled and pulled out her cell. A moment later, Annie's phone began to ring. She put it up to her ear and smiled at her friend. "Okay, I'm listening. I'll see you later."

Britta hurried out of the building once the door to Annie's apartment had shut. She couldn't shake the feeling that the parking lot guy was going to be a problem. She looked around frantically as she opened the front door, and pulled it closed behind her so no one could get in.

Seeing no one in the parking lot, she broke into a sprint toward her car. Only when she had the door unlocked did she peer up at Annie's window, seeing her friend there smiling back at her.

"_You made it!" _Annie teased on the phone. Britta rolled her eyes and gave her backseat a good look before she climbed into the car.

"I made it," she joked back, locking her doors. "Lock your doors, okay?" She heard Annie sigh on the other end.

"_Don't worry, they're already locked,"_ she said. _"I'll see you tomorrow."_

"Yeah, see ya." Britta turned off her phone and tucked it back in her coat pocket. She still felt like something was off, despite all evidence to the contrary. She checked her backseat again for good measure, then pulled her phone out once again.

"_Hello?"_ Jeff answered after two rings.

"Jeff, can you do me a favour?" Britta asked. She heard him give an exaggerated sigh on the other end.

"_What is it?"_ Britta peeked back out at the empty parking lot, her stomach still tied in knots.

"Can you go over to Annie's? She's there alone and I saw this super creepy dude staring up at her windows. I just have a really bad feeling about it." There was a moment of silence on the other end.

"_What does Annie think?"_

"I don't know, she's being difficult. Look, please just do this for me, okay? I have to go and I just don't like her being here by herself."

"_She's a big girl, Britta."_

"I know that! I just... please, Jeff." She hated being relegated to begging with Jeff, but nothing about this situation sat well with her, and she had no choice but to leave.

"_Alright,"_ Jeff said after a moment. _"I'm on my way."_ She let out a sigh of relief.

"Thanks Jeff."

"_Yeah, yeah,"_ he groaned. She smiled and ended the call, putting her car into gear and pulling out of the parking lot.

* * *

Annie's heart hammered in her chest as she watched Britta drive away from the building. She'd built up a bit of a tolerance to creeps after living above Dildopolis for two years, but she'd never seen Britta so worked up. Britta was supposed to be the calm, take no prisoners type. It was rare for anything to fluster her, let alone scare her so much.

She took some time to survey the parking lot before turning back to her door and re-checking the already locked locks. She silently cursed Britta for freaking her out like that. She was almost positive that there was nothing to be afraid of, and yet she couldn't stop her hands from trembling.

Opting to try and drown out her nerves, she turned on the TV to a comedy with a laugh track and turned it up much louder than need-be. She sunk back into Abed's chair and curled herself into a ball, trying to pay close attention to the actions on screen.

A few minutes later, she heard something that sent a chill straight through her. There was a steady scraping on her door that sounded like someone was running their fingernails over it. She tried to ignore it, but after about a minute, it became clear that whoever it was, wasn't going away.

She momentarily thought it had to be Britta playing some kind of mean prank on her. There was no reason to be afraid.

She repeated that phrase to herself as she slowly, quietly crept toward the door. She swallowed hard, standing about a foot back from it, psyching herself up to look out the peephole. She half expected to see some creepy dude's face staring back at her, and half expected to see Britta standing there giggling to herself.

She steadied her breathing, trying to be as quiet as possible as she approached the door. Suddenly, the scraping stopped. Whoever was out there knew she was there. She squeezed her eyes shut, suddenly very nervous to look out the peephole.

_You are a grown woman, and you can take care of yourself_, she thought to herself. She repeated the phrase again in her head. And again. And once more, before finally taking the last step forward and nervously peering out the peephole.

Nothing.

She breathed out, and then looked again.

Still nothing.

She peered around the area that she could see: nothing, nothing, nothing.

She had almost convinced herself that she was cracking up when she spotted something, and jumped back from the door, hand over her mouth so as not to shriek out loud. Whoever was out there was hiding against the wall next to her door, she could just barely see the sleeve of his coat. She felt tears spring to her eyes unbidden, and a sense of full-body terror overtake her.

Why the hell hadn't she left with Britta what she had the chance?

Swiftly, Annie raced over to the kitchen and grabbed a knife, and her phone.

And then the sounds from her door started up again, this time with steady taps and occasional jiggles of the doorknob. She let out a muffled sob as she quickly dialed Jeff's number.

It rang five times before going to voicemail.

"Crap!" Annie whispered to herself. She tried the number again as the noises continued, each jiggle of the doorknob sending a rush of panic through her system. Again, no answer. She sunk down into the corner of her kitchen, clutching a knife in one hand and her phone in the other as the incessant tapping and jiggling continued.

She nearly jumped a mile high as her phone vibrated in her hand.

"Hello?" she whispered shakily into the receiver.

"_Annie? Are you okay?"_ she let out a breath as Jeff's voice came over the line.

"Jeff, there's some guy standing outside my apartment screwing with me. He's freaking me out," she cried in a hushed tone.

"_Annie, I'm standing at the front door of your building now. I need you to buzz me in,"_ Jeff said in a calming voice. Annie slowly peeked out from her hiding spot, peering over at the buzzer, next to the door.

"What are you going to do?" she asked, taking a tentative step out from her hiding spot.

"_I don't know, I'll figure it out when I get up there."_ She swallowed hard and forced her body to move forward. As she reached the door, she stepped forward once again to peer out the peephole.

This time, a man stared back at her, a crooked smile on his thin lips, his brown eyes glinting with mischief. Annie gasped and jumped away. She pounded down on the buzzer, desperate to no longer be alone

She heard the man on the other side of the door chuckle, low and menacing. Then, with a final twist of the doorknob, he ran away.

"I think he's leaving," Annie said shakily into her phone. She nervously peered out the peephole again and sighed when she saw nothing.

"_I'll be up in a sec. Keep your door locked until I'm there."_

Annie stood by the door, clinging still to her phone and knife as the seconds ticked by. She silently cursed the six flights of stairs for keeping Jeff.

She gasped out loud when a knock came at the door. She peeked outside just to be sure before rapidly undoing the locks and pulling the door open. She tugged Jeff inside before slamming and relocking the door as quickly as she could.

"Annie," Jeff said, watching her. She turned to him, her whole body shaking, and she let the phone and knife clatter to the floor as she crossed over into his waiting arms.

"How did you know?" Annie asked, unbidden tears falling from her eyes and into his jacket. Jeff held her tightly.

"Britta called. Are you okay?" he asked. Annie shook her head, holding him tighter. For all of the weirdos and creeps over at Dildopolis, none of them had ever freaked her out as much as this guy.

"I didn't know what to do," she said shakily. "I'm supposed to be able to handle this kind of thing. I'm supposed to be an adult." Jeff sighed.

"Annie, even adults need to be protected," he assured her, running a hand through her hair. She sighed and relaxed into him for the first time.

"I should have left with Britta," she said quietly. Jeff pulled away slightly and held her out at arms' length.

"How do you feel about leaving with me?" he asked. Annie nodded quickly.

"Just let me pack a bag."

* * *

_This story was inspired by a MEAN prank that my sister's husband played on us a few months ago. The whole standing outside the door making little noises, hiding when you go to check thing... yeah, he did that when it was just the two of us and her 3 year old son, at 11 p.m. Needless to say, we weren't amused._

_I'm also incorporating in the next part something inspired by this super creepy guy in my hometown. He's called the 'Sleep Stalker' and he sneaks into women's apartments at night and watches them sleep, touches their hair, etc... yeah, he's gross and terrifying. Anyway, it won't be _that_ specifically, just inspired by his ickyness. _


	2. Chapter 2

Title: The Man at the Door (2/?)

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: Creep factor, insinuation

Disclaimer: I don't own Community, yo

Summary: A seemingly harmless bit of mischief turns into real danger when Annie is targeted by a local creep.

* * *

Annie blinked in the darkness of Jeff's living room, the blanket covering her body pulled all the way up to her chin and trapped there in clenched fists, her body shivering not from the cold, but from left-over fear.

She knew she was being ridiculous. Deep in the recesses of her mind, she knew that she was safe, that Jeff was just a few feet away, and that nobody and nothing could hurt her while she was here.

But that didn't stop her from jumping each time the blackened shadows in the room seemed to move and tease and taunt her. It didn't stop her teeth from chattering despite the lack of cold. It didn't stop her from pulling that blanket up over her face and trying desperately to block out the looming, moving creatures of the night that seemed to haunt every corner of Jeff's apartment.

Annie closed her eyes tightly, willing away the fear and the irrationality that was making it so hard to sleep. She wanted to peek out from the blanket, to check the time on her cell phone, but she felt paralyzed. She didn't want to see what hid in the shadows. She wanted unconsciousness to save her from the night and take her through to morning.

She'd run through the events of the night more times than she could count, partly trying to determine some sort of motivation for the man, and partly just trying to convince herself that it was no big deal, that he was just a mischievous jerk and that he wasn't targeting _her_, so much as just trying to freak_ someone_ out. Besides, it's not like he actually did anything to her. So he scratched at her door and jiggled the knob... so what? She had absolutely no reason to be worked up about it. It was nothing.

It was nothing. Nothing, nothing, nothing.

And yet she was still afraid, and no amount of rationalization was making the fear go away.

She just felt like there was more to it. Beyond all reason, she felt like the guy wasn't just trying to scare her—that he had more malicious intentions than simply freaking out some young woman alone in her apartment. She couldn't shake the feeling that she'd dodged a bullet by leaving with Jeff when she did.

Whatever the case, the logical part of her brain knew that the mystery wouldn't be solved that night. Of course, the logical part of her brain had largely been overridden when she saw the man staring back at her through her peep-hole, as if he could see her and he knew exactly who she was and how much of an effect he'd had on her. Every time she closed her eyes she could see his eyes and his awful smirk. She could hear his dark chuckle and the heaviness of his footsteps as he walked away. She could see just that sliver of sleeve that proved he was hiding, trying to mess with her. She could feel his presence.

Annie took a shuddering breath and forced herself to peek out from beneath the blanket. She looked around in the dark again, feeling so thoroughly unprotected laying out in the middle of Jeff's apartment, just waiting to be stabbed, or abducted, or worse. She tried to temper those thoughts, but they bounded up unbidden.

Annie forced herself to take a deep breath and to find some sort of calm centre.

And then she heard a creek. Then another. Then another.

Footsteps.

Her heart jumped into her throat. Her breathing picked up. Her pulse raced. She peeled her eyes in the darkness, trying to see the culprit, to see _anything_, but it was just so damn dark in there! Why didn't Jeff have a night light, or something?

"You okay?" she jumped and gasped when she heard the low, raspy voice in the dark. "Annie, geez." A light came on, and she shut her eyes against the brightness.

"What are you doing up?" she mumbled, her mouth still covered by the blanket. She blinked her eyes open and found Jeff standing a few feet away dressed in sweat pants and an old t-shirt. His hair was mussed and he looked like he'd just woken up.

"I could hear you shivering from my room," he explained. Annie hadn't realized she'd been making noise—though it was hard to control it when her whole body was wracked with shakes. "Are you cold?" He crossed over to where she laid stiff as a board and sat down on the edge of the couch.

"No," she answered quietly, though her continued shakes seemed to prove otherwise. Jeff frowned and reached out, grabbing the top of the blanket and pulling it away from her mouth. Annie reluctantly let it slip out of her grasp as he pulled it down to her shoulders, and then took hold of one of her hands.

"Are you scared?" he asked. She nodded – no point in pretending she wasn't. She was sure her skin was white as a sheet, and even if it wasn't, she knew her eyes were telling the whole story. Jeff took a deep breath and let it out slowly, fixing her with a gentle gaze. He swiped the back of her hand with his thumb.

"You know you're safe here, right?" She nodded. Jeff offered a small smile. "Liar." Annie shrugged.

"I know I'm safe," she said quietly, finding her voice. "But knowing it and feeling it are two different things." Jeff nodded his understanding.

"I know what you mean." Her brow furrowed.

"You do?"

"Yeah," he affirmed. "Look, I'll admit that when Britta called me, I thought she was overreacting, but when you called... Annie, it freaked me right out." She frowned. "The thought of something happening to you..." he let his sentence drop off as he looked away from her, seeming to gather his thoughts. His gaze finally returned to her as he continued. "I'm just glad you're here. Let's leave it at that." Annie quirked a small grin at that – her first since the incident.

"So am I," she admitted. Jeff smiled lightly.

"Still scared?" he asked.

"A bit," she allowed. Jeff nodded and stood up, pulling her up into a seated position by the hand he was still holding.

"Why don't you come into my room. We can be scared together." She smiled at that, feeling a flood of relief wash through her that she wouldn't have to spend another moment alone on that couch. She followed him quietly into his room and slid into the side opposite to where he laid, feeling marginally calm for the first time since she'd been there.

"Thanks Jeff," she whispered into the darkness.

"Don't mention it," he mumbled. She could tell he was already half asleep. She was jealous of his ability to let go of the evening's events and fall asleep so quickly.

She took a deep breath and settled back into the pillow, calmed slightly by Jeff's warmth at her side.

It didn't escape her that the shadows in this room didn't seem nearly so threatening as the ones she'd witnessed earlier. With that last thought, she closed her eyes and finally let her overtired mind relax.

* * *

"So," Jeff said from his spot at his dining room table. Annie sat across from him slowly eating cereal as he sipped his coffee. "What's the plan today?" Annie sighed and set her spoon down, leaning back in her chair.

"I guess I should go home," she said tentatively. Jeff sipped his coffee again.

"When do Troy and Abed get back?"

"Tomorrow."

"You could stay here until then if you want." Annie shook her head.

"I appreciate the offer, but I can't avoid going home forever," she insisted.

"One more day isn't 'forever,' and given what happened last time you were home alone, I don't think avoidance is the worst thing in the world," Jeff argued. Annie smiled at that.

"Aww, you're worried about me," she teased. Jeff's face remained serious.

"Yeah, I am," he said, no trace of a joke in his voice. Annie frowned, and he leaned forward a little, as if to help make his point. "Annie, I don't know who that guy was last night, or what he was trying to accomplish, but I'm not comfortable sending you home to wait and see what he does next." Annie shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

"Well gee, Jeff, thanks for not freaking me out more," she said sarcastically.

"I'm not trying to freak you out, Annie, I'm just trying to be careful here." She frowned. "Look, chances are he's just a douchebag and it was a one-time thing... but what if it wasn't? Do you really want to be there if he decides to come back?"

"What would you prefer I do, Jeff?" she exclaimed. "Let some guy scare me out of my own home?" Jeff sighed deeply.

"Just wait until Troy and Abed get back... that's all," he plead. Annie shook her head and pushed her chair back, grabbing her bowl and taking it into the kitchen.

"I'm not hiding," she called from the sink. "I let him scare me off last night, but it's not going to happen again," she said, determined. Jeff rolled his eyes and grabbed his cup, going to join her in the kitchen.

"It's not about being scared or hiding, Annie, it's about being safe." Annie rinsed her bowl and set it down in the sink.

"Jeff, I'll be fine," she said assuredly. Jeff groaned out loud and dropped his head into his hands, massaging away a pain in the centre of his forehead.

"Ugh, fine," he grumbled. "But I'm going with you."

"Jeff..."

"I'm going with you," he repeated, more firmly. She rolled her eyes.

"I don't need a babysitter, Jeff. I'm a big girl," she argued. Jeff shook his head.

"You don't get it, do you?" he asked. Annie shook her head.

"No, Jeff, you don't get it. I _need_ to do this. I can't let some creep scare me out of my house. I can't give him that kind of control. It was bad enough that I ran away last night... I can't keep doing that." She took a moment before continuing, making sure to meet Jeff's eye when she did. "I have to grow up sometime," she finally said. Jeff frowned.

"Growing up doesn't mean you have to be alone," he said quietly. He met her gaze and noted her determination. "Can I at least drive you home?" he asked. Annie offered a small smile.

"Well, I don't have my car here, so I guess that would be okay." Jeff glared at her for a moment.

"You're stubborn—has anyone ever told you that?" She grinned.

"Once or twice."

* * *

Annie took a deep breath as Jeff pulled into a space in front of her building. It was broad daylight and she knew it was silly to be scared with Jeff by her side, but she still felt a familiar bubble of anxiety as she climbed out of the car and felt the cool nip of November air.

"You still think this is a good idea?" Jeff asked, coming to stand at her side as she peered up at the building. She nodded.

"It'll be fine." She knew her tone was less convincing than what she was going for, but she couldn't help it, she was nervous.

"Alright," Jeff allowed. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Let's go."

The pair made their way slowly up the six flights of stairs to Annie's apartment. She wasn't feeling particularly rushed to get back to the scene of the crime; in fact, the further she went, the more anxious she became. Something just felt off, and she couldn't figure out what it was.

When they finally reached the door, she pulled out her key and waited a moment.

"It's just your apartment," Jeff encouraged. "You've done this a million times." Annie offered a small nod.

"It's just my apartment," she repeated. With a deep breath she reached forward and placed the key in the hole, turned it, and then pulled it out with a gasp.

"What's wrong?" Jeff asked.

"It's unlocked," she said breathlessly. Jeff's eyes widened at that. "I locked it when I left, didn't I?" she asked. "Do you remember me locking it? I know I was in a rush..." she looked frantically between Jeff and the doorknob as she tried to remember leaving.

"You locked it," Jeff affirmed. Annie let out a small cry.

"What the hell, Jeff?" she demanded, frustrated and afraid. Jeff pushed himself slightly in front of her and put his hand on the knob.

"Just stay behind me," he told her. Annie nodded and hung back just slightly as he pushed the door open.

Annie gasped at what she saw before her. Her apartment was in total disarray, with tables and chairs flipped, dishes broken, linens all over the place and lamps tipped over. Jeff went ahead of her and checked out the rooms, before coming back to stand in the living room with her.

"It's clear," he assured her. "At least that's something." Annie dropped her head into her hands and sunk down to the ground.

"I knew it," she mumbled to herself. "I knew there had to be more to it." Jeff pulled out his cell phone. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm calling the police," he explained as he dialled. Annie nodded, and looked around the room dumbly. She couldn't believe this had happened. After spending all night trying to convince herself that nothing was wrong, she couldn't believe that her instincts had actually been right.

"What if I hadn't left with you?" she asked Jeff once he was off the phone.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, coming to sit in the middle of the floor with her.

"What if I hadn't left? What if I was still here and he came in to do this... what would he have done to me?" she asked. Jeff reached over and grabbed her hand.

"What if's aren't going to get you anywhere right now, Annie," he said. "You're safe. That's all that matters." She nodded slowly, but still felt horrible in the pit of her stomach.

"Are the police coming?" she asked.

"They're on their way," he assured her.

"Thanks for being here," she said quietly. Jeff squeezed her hand in reply as the two looked around at the damage.

* * *

It didn't take long for the police to arrive at Annie's apartment. While two of them went about surveying the damage, Officer Cackowski settled himself down at the dining table with Annie and Jeff to take her statement. After Annie recounted the story, the man flipped to a fresh page on his notepad and shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

"Okay, I have to ask you something now, Miss Edison, and it's going to sound strange, but I need you to answer honestly." Annie's brow furrowed.

"What is it?" Officer Cackowski leaned forward and put his pen to the paper.

"Have you noticed anything missing of a...personal nature?" Annie's brow furrowed.

"I'm not sure what you mean." He shifted again.

"I mean things like... undergarments, lingerie, things like that."

"I haven't checked..." she said timidly.

"Why do you ask?" Jeff cut in. Officer Cackowski sighed and set down his notepad.

"Over the past few months we've had a string of incidents like this," he explained. Annie and Jeff exchanged a glance.

"I haven't heard about anything like this in the news," Jeff said.

"We haven't made it public yet," Officer Cackowski explained. "We were hoping to catch the perp before it would become necessary, but recently things have been... escalating." Annie startled at that.

"What do you mean, escalating?" The officer sighed before delving into it.

"Back when it started it was just the behaviour you described. Some creep knocking on doors, peeking in windows... just scaring people, but leaving it at that. Then about two months ago this guy that fits the description you gave pulled this on a young woman who lived alone uptown, only instead of going away, he broke into her apartment when she wasn't home. He ransacked the place, and he took a few articles of clothing... a shirt and a bra." Annie balked at that.

"Is that all?" she asked, almost nervous to find out more.

"For a while. We had about three accounts of that happening. But then on the fourth, he didn't just take things... he left something behind: a note he left in the woman's underwear drawer, telling her he was watching her and that he'd be back."

"Jesus," Jeff exclaimed.

"Did anything happen?" Annie asked. Officer Cackowski shook his head.

"No... not yet, at least. But we've noticed an escalation in his activities, both in the severity and the number of incidents. We don't know if he's dangerous, but we don't take threats like this lightly—which is why I asked if you've noticed any personal affects missing... have you looked in your underwear drawer yet?" Annie shook her head.

"I didn't think to," she breathed, feeling her heart rate picking up. The officer jotted down a note and then stood up.

"I need you to go take a look," he said. "We'll wait out here if you want your privacy." Annie nodded slowly, peering at the open door of her room nervously.

"It's okay, Annie. The cops have been through this place... the most you'll find is a note," Jeff encouraged her. Annie felt her heart rate pick up.

"I know... I just really don't want to find one," she said quietly. Jeff pulled her in, hugging her tightly.

"You're okay, Annie. I'm here, the police are here... no matter what happens, you'll be okay." Annie bit her lip and stepped back out of his arms.

"If he left a note it could help us catch him," said Officer Cackowski. Annie nodded and slowly made her way toward her bedroom, feeling all of the tension of the past two days settle over her at once. What was once her haven, her personal space, felt like it was burning her as she neared it.

She crossed over into her bedroom and frowned at the scene. Clothes were strewn about, her bed was unmade and showed the unmistakable signs of someone having lain in her sheets. A shiver went down her spine at the thought of the brown-eyed creep laying in her bed, his head on her pillow before he delved into her most personal things. She balked at the thought of his hands on her underwear... what he might have done with it, what he might be doing with it now.

With that thought on her mind, she crossed over to her dresser and pulled open the top drawer where two things became immediately clear: she was missing several pairs of panties and a bra, and there was note unfolded and handwritten, on her own stationary, laying on top of unfolded undergarments.

"There's a note!" she called out, not wanting to touch it. One of the police officers, a woman, came into the space.

"Do you mind?" she asked, gesturing the piece of paper. Annie stepped back and allowed the woman to take the note. She then pushed her drawer shut and followed the officer back into the living room.

"What does it say?" Jeff asked once everyone was back in the main room. Officer Cackowski took the note from his partner and read it through.

"You sure you want to hear this?" he asked Annie.

"Can I read it to myself?" she asked. Officer Cackowski nodded, relinquishing the note to the younger woman.

Annie took a deep breath before holding the paper up so she could see the words lazily scrawled with a purple pen on her pink stationary.

* * *

_Dearest Annie,_

_I know your name. I know where you live. I know where you go to school. I know where you keep your underwear, your knives, your gun and your pepper spray. I know what you keep in your fridge. I know what you keep under your bed. I know where you hide your vibrator (I have that, by the way... in case you were wondering). _

_I know everything, and soon I'll know you. _

_Sleep with one eye open, Annie Edison. I'm coming back for you._

_XOXO_

* * *

The words blurred in front of Annie as she read through the note. She fought not to crumple it in her moist hands once she was finished. She was filled with so much fear and so much anger toward the man who had done this to her. How _dare _he threaten her? How dare he enter her home, touch her bed, take her things? How dare he?

"Annie?" Jeff asked after a long moment. Annie silently handed him the note, not bothering to watch his reaction. She already knew how he would react—she assumed his rage would be quite similar to her own at the moment.

"We're going to take the note into evidence," Officer Cackowski said after a few minutes. Annie nodded but said nothing, her blood boiling beneath the surface.

"What are you going to do about this guy?" Jeff asked. Annie could hear the barely concealed venom in his tone.

"We're working on it, Mr. Winger. In the meantime, Miss Edison, we suggest staying somewhere else until you roommates get home, and try to avoid going places by yourself. Even though this guy hasn't hurt anyone yet, there's no reason to believe he won't."

"So that's it?" Jeff demanded. "Hide until you find him?"

"Just be smart, Miss Edison," said Officer Cackowski, ignoring Jeff for the time-being. "We'll let you know the moment we find something."

Annie was vaguely aware of the police leaving, of Jeff storming around the apartment, tidying up with more force than absolutely necessary, but everything was kind of foggy. She felt humiliated and violated. Even though she'd never met this person, he'd still managed to insert himself into her life and make things miserable for her.

It wasn't acceptable.

"Did you hear me?" she heard Jeff ask. She blinked up at him, realizing for the first time that he was standing in front of her.

"Sorry, did you say something?"

"I asked if you wanted to stay with me, or call Britta," Jeff replied. Annie bit the inside of her cheek as she pondered this, looking around.

"I'm going to stay here," she said firmly. Jeff's brow furrowed.

"Annie..."

"I'm not waiting around for this guy to make a mistake and get caught by the police, Jeff," she said firmly. "You can stay if you want to, but I'm not leaving. If he wants to run around town scaring people and being a perv... well... he picked the wrong girl to mess with."

* * *

_Full disclosure, I have no idea where this is going next, so bear with me as I come up with a suitable conclusion and try to fight through the epic case of writers block I've had for two months now._

_That said, hope you liked it – let me know!_


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** The Man at the Door (3/4)

**Rating:** PG-13

**Warnings:** Creep factor, insinuation

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Community, yo

**Summary:** A seemingly harmless bit of mischief turns into real danger when Annie is targeted by a local creep.

* * *

Annie pulled her knees up to her chest as she sat in a ball on Troy's chair, the TV providing a minor distraction from her friend silently fuming next to her in Abed's chair. Jeff hadn't said much to her after she decided to stick around, aside from the occasional reassurance that what she was doing was absolutely moronic. True to his nature, though, he hadn't made any moves to leave, and she didn't question him. Despite the discomfort, she'd rather have him here and angry with her than be alone waiting for something that might never happen.

Just as Annie was becoming confident that the awkward silence would be a permanent fixture for the evening, her stomach growled ferociously, cutting into the silence like a knife.

"Crap," she mumbled to herself. Jeff's brow furrowed. "I was supposed to buy groceries today. I don't have anything to make for dinner."

"Then you should get groceries," he said sharply. Annie rolled her eyes. His irritated act was getting a little old.

"I'm not going to drag you out to get groceries with me."

"Then go by yourself."

"What?" she exclaimed. "I'm not leaving you alone here." He turned to her with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, so it's okay for you, a 22 year old women to sit alone in an apartment waiting for some creep to come back and do God knows what, but for me, a 35 year old man, it's too dangerous? Sounds like you've really though this through." Annie sighed deeply.

"Look, I know you're not happy about this, but this is what I have to do, Jeff. This has nothing to do with _him_. It has to do with_ me_. If I let myself be scared tonight, then what's stopping me from being scared tomorrow night, or the next?"

"Troy and Abed. Roommates. Back-up," Jeff listed.

"It's not about who I'm with, it's about how I feel. Can you please just try to understand that?"

"I don't understand it," he said, frustration evident in his voice. Annie sighed.

"I can see that. Just pretend for me, okay?" He glared at her for a long moment.

"I'm not leaving you alone here."

"Come on, Jeff. What are the odds of that guy coming back in the 20 minutes it takes you to pick up dinner?"

"The odds of getting struck by lightning are nearly infinitesimal, but that still happens." Annie groaned out loud and dropped her head back against the chair before returning her gaze to him.

"Okay, fine. We'll _both_ go and get pizza, and when we get back, you'll see that there was nothing to worry about. Deal?"

* * *

The trip to the pizza place had done wonders for Jeff's mood, and Annie was beginning to wonder if it was just cabin fever that was getting to him, as opposed to the more logical reason, the fear of Annie being raped and murdered in her apartment.

Whatever the case, both of them were feeling noticeably lighter as they drove back to the Trobed/Annie apartment carting two large pizzas that would absolutely not get finished by them that night. Annie figured Troy and Abed wouldn't mind coming to home to a fridge full of cold pizza, nor would she be opposed to munching on it for a few days until she could drag herself out to buy groceries.

Their mood, however, did not remain intact as they pulled into the parking lot of the apartment and became aware of several police cars pulled up to the front, lights flashing. They spotted Officer Cackowski leaning against one of the cars and abandoned the pizza in the car in favour of checking in with him.

"Miss Edison, Mr. Winger," he greeted as they approached him.

"What's going on?" Annie questioned, a sick feeling rising in her stomach.

"We had another break in on your floor," Officer Cackowski explained. He shifted from foot to foot for a moment, clearly disturbed by something.

"What is it?" Jeff asked. "What aren't you telling us?" Officer Cackowski looked down at his shoes awkwardly before meeting Annie's gaze.

"He left a note."

"He always leaves a note," she said.

"Yeah, but this note mentioned you." She gasped.

"What did it say?" Jeff asked, tension clear in his voice.

"He says he's going to continue the break-ins and threats until he gets you alone," the officer said with a bit of a growl in his voice. Annie's face paled at the new information.

"What?!" Jeff demanded. "What happened to never following up with his victims? Now suddenly he's some crazy stalker?"

"Look, we don't know much about this guy aside from the escalation in his activities. If this is the next step, who knows where it's going to lead next"

"I'll tell you where it's going to lead next. It's going to lead to Annie in a fucking body bag unless you start doing your goddamn job!" Jeff exclaimed.

"Calm down, Mr. Winger."

"Calm down? Are you serious? I'm a lawyer, Officer, I know how sickos like this guy work. Don't try to tell me I'm overreacting here."

"I don't think you're overreacting," he interjected. "But being a lawyer, you should know that investigations like this take time unless we're able to catch the guy red handed." He peeked over at a silent, pale Annie as he said this, which only served to infuriate Jeff more.

"Oh, I see. So your solution here is to use Annie as bait?" The venom in Jeff's tone could not have been missed.

"Of course not," Officer Cackowski inserted, his tone as calm as could be, much to Jeff's irritation. "We would never put a civilian at risk like that." Jeff seemed to calm slightly at this, although his hackles were very clearly still up.

"So what is the plan, then? Explain it to me," he said, attempting (and mostly failing) to be calmer.

"Put a decoy in the apartment tonight, see if we can lure him in. Given the timing and accuracy of his attacks, it seems apparent that he's watching the place. We should take advantage of that." Jeff seemed to mull this over for a long moment before responding.

"Do you have a convincing decoy?"

"Convincing enough, sure. But if this guy is watching, we need to be careful not to tip him off. It's going to have to be a bit of a bait and switch operation. Let him see Annie enter the apartment alone, close the drapes and then switch her out for the decoy." Jeff nodded along as Officer Cackowski relayed the plan.

"Sounds solid enough," he allowed. He turned to Annie for the first time since receiving the news, finding her looking both angry and scared. "What do you think?" he questioned.

"I think it sucks," she said, her voice sharper than either man expected.

"What do you mean?" Officer Cackowski asked.

"I mean I'm done letting this guy push me around," she said firmly. "I'm not letting some _decoy me _wait around in my apartment for this guy to come in after her."

"Annie..." Jeff attempted.

"No, Jeff. I'm not discussing this with you anymore. I know how you feel about it, and I don't want to hear it. This guy is trying to scare me away and I'm not going to let him succeed. If we're going to try and catch him tonight, then I'm going to be a part of it."

"No," Officer Cackowski said firmly. "It's way too dangerous for a civilian to get involved in a sting operation like this."

"Sting operation?" Annie questioned with a tone of disbelief. "You're the Greendale PD. The most dangerous operation you've ever undertaken was trying to get Spaghetti to stop peeing on the sidewalk."

"Hey, that guy had a knife," Officer Cackowski defended.

"It was a Swiss Army Knife. He used it for opening cans and clipping his toenails," Annie argued.

"This is all beside the point," Jeff cut them off, irritated. "Annie, I know you want to be a part of this for some kind of female power-slash-pride thing, but this is ridiculous. It's dangerous."

"You think I don't know it's dangerous?" Annie turned on him. "I know it's dangerous, Jeff. I know that he wants to hurt me, but I don't care. I'm done letting him dictate my life. I'm going to wait for him. I'm going to be the trap, and that way when he's being handcuffed and carted away, he'll know who he can thank for it."

"And he'll know exactly who you are and where you live for when he gets out," Jeff argued.

"He already knows those things!" Annie exclaimed. "How does this put me in any more danger than I'm already in?"

"Because it puts you on the front lines of a battle you have no business being a part of," Jeff attempted.

"No business being a part of? Jeff, this is _my _battle. It started when he knocked on my door last night, and it's going to end tonight, one way or another."

"Even if it means you end up hurt, or worse?" he asked.

"Even then," she said with finality. She turned to Officer Cackowski. "What's the plan? What were you going to do to back up the decoy?" The man looked between her and a fuming Jeff for a moment before responding.

"The apartment down the hall that was broken into is empty tonight; they're going to let us hunker down inside. We'll set up a webcam link between the apartments so we know what's going on, and when the man arrives and enters, we'll move in."

"You have to wait until he's inside?" Jeff asked.

"Technically standing in the hallway doesn't amount to much more than being a nuisance. We can ask him to leave, but unless we catch him breaking and entering, we don't have enough to hold him," Officer Cackowski explained.

"And so Annie's just supposed to sit in her apartment and wait for this man to force his way in and attack her," Jeff deadpanned.

"We'll be there long before he can do anything," Officer Cackowski assured them both.

"Sure, unless he walks in and shoots her in the head. What then?" Jeff directed the question more to Annie than to Officer Cackowski.

"Then at least you'll have a cool story for my eulogy," Annie said with a hint of a smile for Jeff's benefit. He glared at her, clearly unimpressed.

"You're committed to doing this. No matter how idiotic it is?" he sought clarification. Annie nodded determinedly.

"This ends tonight, Jeff. One way or another." He frowned and closed the distance, pulling her into him tightly. He lowered his lips to her ear and whispered just loud enough for her to hear.

"If this guy lays one hand on you, he's not going to make it to prison." Annie closed her eyes tightly and rested her head against his chest.

"I believe you."

* * *

_AN – I know, I'm the worst. This took ages and ages to update and it's still not done. I hope you're still enjoying it though!_

_I have to give credit for this course of events to the awesome claymay83, who suggested basically everything that happened in this chapter. Without that advice this probably would still be in limbo. Direct your thank you cards to him!_


	4. Chapter 4

**Title:** The Man at the Door (4/4)

**Rating:** PG-13

**Warnings:** Creep factor, insinuation

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Community, yo

**Summary:** A seemingly harmless bit of mischief turns into real danger when Annie is targeted by a local creep.

* * *

"I still can't believe you're staying here. You've got to be all the way out your whole damn mind," Jeff said upon entering Annie's apartment. After finalizing their plans with the police, Jeff and Annie had set forth to do their part. If the stalker was in fact watching the apartment, then he would reasonably assume that Jeff would stick around throughout the evening. If the man was going to act (and everyone _but_Jeff was hoping he would) he would have to see Jeff leave before doing so.

* * *

_  
"What?! I'm not leaving! Are you insane?"_Jeff had protested at first.  
_  
"You don't have to leave. He just has to see you exit and drive off. You can park down the road and come back in the rear entrance,"_Officer Cackowski explained. The sound of Jeff's teeth grinding together was audible to all in the small circle.

The idea was that Annie and Jeff would go back to her apartment, only to have them come up with a reason for him to leave, and Annie would begin going about her regular routine so as to make everything seem normal and, as the officer put it, "Ripe for the picking". The police would set up a hidden camera outside of the apartment so they would be able to see when the stalker reappeared, and act as soon as he began attempting to break in once again. Through it all, Annie would keep her cell phone dialed and prepared to call Jeff in case of unforeseen circumstances. She was also tasked with turning on her webcam and Skypeing over to the team of police so they'd be able to talk her through any bouts of panic or distress.

Once again, everyone was on board with this plan except for Jeff.  
_  
"Don't you think you should have a cop_**inside**_the apartment, in case he gets in and locks the door before we can get there?"_

"We're going to be two doors down, Mr. Winger. There's no chance that even this guy would be able to get through a deadbolt that fast."

"Jeff, it's going to be alright. You guys are all going to be just down the hall, and I'm going to be safely holed up in my apartment. I'm going to be fine, I promise." Jeff huffed.

"I want to go on record as saying..."

* * *

"...that this is an idiotic idea," Jeff reiterated the thought for the millionth time. Annie rolled her eyes, but faced away from him so he couldn't see her. She didn't want him to think she was mad at him. After all, he'd gone above and beyond to keep her safe ever since the initial incident. She had no right to be angry with him for trying to protect her. Of course, that didn't stop the irritation from boiling in her gut.

"Look, Jeff, if you're really so mad about it, then maybe you should just go," she said, facing the window as she did so. She doubted the stalker was a lip-reader, but figured she wouldn't take any chances.

"Seriously?" Jeff asked with mock incredulity. "You want me to leave you here by yourself with some sick-o after you?" She spun on her heel to face him.

"I want you to stop calling me an idiot, Jeff!" she exclaimed, only half pretending. "I want you to understand that I can't let some guy scare me out of my own home, not this guy, not any guy. I want you to trust that I can take care of myself and actually _let me do it!_"

Jeff blinked in response, feeling a sting from her words. He knew she was exaggerating for effect, but he also knew Annie well enough to know when she was genuinely upset.

"I wasn't calling _you_an idiot, Annie," he attempted, more calmly this time. "I'm just pointing out that no matter what your reason is, staying here tonight isn't smart." She glared at him.

"And you've made that point. Ad nauseum. The only way you could have made it clearer is if you put it in sky writing!" she exclaimed, not at all assuaged by his attempts. Jeff crossed his arms over his chest defensively.

"It's not my fault you won't listen to reason," he ground out. She rolled her eyes once again, in full view of him this time.

"Whose reason? Yours? For Christ's sake, if it were up to you I'd be hiding in a bunker underground in the middle of the desert! I can't _hide,_Jeff. I won't!"

"So that's it? You're just going to sit here in your hovel and wait for some guy to come and attack you?" he questioned, a little harsher than he intended. Annie set her jaw.

"Yeah, Jeff. That's what I'm going to do." She stepped past him to the door, pulling it open. "And I think it's time for you to go." He glared at her a moment too long, his heart hammering in his chest, tears of anger and fear stinging at the back of his eyes. He stepped close to her.

"Don't get hurt, Annie," he said, his voice low and pleading. She met his eyes, her fiery gaze doused by his words. She could see the genuine concern in his blues and knew that although he believed all of the crappy things he'd said to her, they came from a good place.

"I won't," she said, her voice low and hitched with a tinge of nervousness. Jeff offered a curt nod and stepped out, turning back just before leaving.

"Lock your door," he told her. She leaned against the frame, suddenly exhausted.

"I always do."

Jeff watched her for a long moment, the intensity in his gaze unlike anything Annie had ever seen before. Between them, the fear was palatable, and even though she was confident in her decision, she still couldn't help but be concerned about the very real possibility of this all going sideways. She could see that same fear reflected in Jeff's eyes, and it did nothing to help ease the army of butterflies in her stomach.

She forced herself to step back into her apartment and close the door, Jeff still standing in the hall, still watching her as she did so.

The click of the door, followed by the click of three locks and the sound of her heavier-than-usual breathing were the only noises to follow. She put her back against the door and looked around her apartment timidly. Her hands shook, her breaths came unsteady, and her heart thrashed angrily in her chest. This was real; there was no turning back now. She was alone.

"Okay, Annie," she said out loud to herself, her voice unsteady. "Just go about your normal routine."

She wandered first to the living room where she'd forgotten her phone before leaving with Jeff earlier, finding it sitting on the arm of Troy's chair. She looked to her computer, knowing she had to set up the Skype chat with the police, but decided to do one more thing first. Clutching her phone in her hand like a lifeline, she turned and raced to her bedroom.

Once inside, she made a bee-line for her gun, which she kept in a box under her bed. She knew that there was little chance of the man making it into her apartment before the police could get to him, but it just seemed silly to be sitting there unarmed. She pulled the old cedar box out and flicked open the small metal tab before lifting the lid.

Her heart plummeted.

"Looking for this?" she heard the voice before she saw him. As her head shot up, she watched her bedroom door swing shut, revealing a man standing behind it, holding her gun. "I thought I told you in my note that I knew where it was," he said, wandering a few steps from the wall. "You didn't think I'd just leave it there for you, did you?"

Annie jumped to her feet and hit the power button on her cell phone. Nothing.

"Yeah, that's not going to work either," he said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small rectangular device that Annie recognized as her cell's battery.

"Who are you? What do you want with me?" Annie demanded, her voice shaky, her eyes darting between her gun in his hand and those angry dark eyes that had haunted her since the previous night.

"So many questions," he teased, menace oozing from his every pore. "Is that any way to treat a guest?"

"You're not my guest," Annie said, her voice low and dangerous. The man chuckled.

"Annie, Annie, Annie. You're not a very gracious host." He took another step, and she took one back.

"Stay the _fuck_away from me!" she exclaimed.

"Or what?" he asked. "You'll scream?" he took another step, and she moved back once more, coming into contact with the far wall of her bedroom. He raised the gun and closed the gap, holding the weapon beneath her chin, standing so close she could smell his aftershave strongly enough to feel sick from it.

"I don't think you want to do that."

* * *

Jeff had never peeled out of a parking lot so fast, nor had he ever actually done a 180 degree turn in his precious Lexus by means of spinning it half out-of-control and squealing the tires in an obscene shriek of rubber against pavement.

Then again, he'd never in his life been in such a rush to get _anywhere_.

He pulled his car into the parking lot of a neighbouring apartment building, abandoning it in one of the tenants' spots, tickets and tows be damned. He raced around back of Annie's building as fast as his feet could take him, all the while keeping an eye out for any dark-clad strangers lurking around, on the off chance he'd spot the guy and be able to beat him to a pulp before he ever got to Annie's door.

This was ridiculous. Every part of this goddamn plan was so abso-fucking-lutely ridiculous, and Jeff was regretting it every second that he'd let Annie go through with it. Of course, that clearly hadn't been up to him, if the way she chewed him out was any indication. At first he thought they'd been putting on a show for some unseen assailant, but as she continued on, he became pretty confident she was only saying it for his benefit.

Part of him felt guilty for the way he'd been treating her ever since she'd decided to return to her apartment. He never wanted Annie to feel like he was babying her, or like he thought she couldn't take care of herself. He knew she could. Goodness knows, she'd lasted two years in that awful apartment above Dildopolis without so much as saying a word about it. Annie was tough, he knew that. But he knew that she didn't think he knew that, and that was, in his opinion, his own failing. She deserved to know those things. He wanted a chance to tell her.

The problem was, that chance somehow felt farther away now than it had just an hour earlier. He couldn't help the doubt and fear that filled him to the brim as he burst through the back door of the complex and took the stairs two at a time. He'd immediately felt something was wrong when he stepped into that apartment, and that feeling had only become more potent in the moments that passed. His only solace was that only about ten minutes had passed, and he was fairly confident that not much could have gone down in just ten minutes.

Once he finally reached the third floor of the complex, he approached the police headquarters and banged on the door with more force than absolutely necessary. It swung open immediately, revealing Officer Cackowski looking more than a little irritated.

"You could at least _try_to be covert," he snapped. Jeff glared at him and barged in past him, heading for the computer, which currently was showing a blank Skype screen.

"Where's Annie? I thought she was going to Skype in right away," Jeff demanded.

"She's taking longer than expected," the female officer sitting at the computer said, a little bored.

"Longer than expected? That means something's wrong, you idiots!" he exclaimed. "Annie does everything right. She'd be on by now if everything was going according to plan."

"Calm down, Mr. Winger. I'm sure she's just having computer trouble," Officer Cackowski said calmly. "Besides, we've been watching the feed from the camera in the hallway and there hasn't been any traffic other than you since we've been here." Jeff growled audibly at the man and pulled out his phone, bringing up Annie's number.

"Would it have killed you to at least check in?" he questioned, bringing the ringing phone up to his ear. After two rings his heart began to beat faster. After four, his breathing came faster.  
_  
"The customer you are trying to reach has their phone turned off..."  
_  
"Fuck!" Jeff exclaimed, tossing his phone angrily onto the table, the back of the battery case falling off on impact.

"What?" asked Officer Cackowski, finally getting his hackles up after what Jeff had determined was far too long.

"Something's wrong," Jeff said, storming for the door. "I knew it. I fucking knew it!"

* * *

"You're probably wondering how I got in here," the man said, grinning as he held Annie pinned against the wall with the gun under her chin. "It's a good story. I'm pretty proud of it."

"I don't give a shit," she spat, anger and fear forcing violent shakes through her body. The man offered a pout.

"Oh come on, don't be like that," he said, a forced lightness in his tone. "You see, all of your cop friends out there think I ran away after I trashed that apartment." He laughed brightly, as if he'd been told an hilarious joke. "But I came here as soon as I was done! I've been here for over an hour! You'd be amazed at what I can get done in an hour." Annie glared at him.

"You know the cops are here," she attempted through clenched teeth. "They'll catch you before you can do anything to me."

He watched her for a moment, his grin eventually falling away. He leaned forward against her, dipping his mouth down to her ear.

"You're shaking," he observed, ignoring her warning. "I like that."

"Go to hell," she bit, moving her head away from his mouth; he followed, his lips connecting with her throat. She raised her hands to push him away, only to feel the gun pushed more firmly under her chin.

"Ah, ah, ah," he warned, pulling away slightly to meet her eyes. "We're doing this my way, baby."

Annie glared at him, anger flaring throughout her entire being.

"No," she said darkly. "We're done with your way."

* * *

Jeff led the charge to Annie's door, attempting the locks in a futile effort before banging on the door.

"Annie! Open up, show's over!" He shouted through the wood. Officer Cackowski caught up then, nudging Jeff out of the way and leaning in to the door.

"Ms. Edison, we're just checking up on you. Let us in, please." Jeff rolled his eyes at the silence that followed.

And then they heard a smash, and a grunt, and yelling behind the door. Jeff's eyes widened.

"Open the door," he demanded of the police. "Open the goddamn door! He's in there!"

Jeff felt as if time was at a standstill as the pair of officers worked their way through the locks, all the while sounds of a struggle continued inside. He could hear Annie crying out, and a male voice grunting and groaning. Each image that came to mind was worse than the last.

"Hurry the fuck up!" Jeff exclaimed, banging his fist against the wall angrily.

"We're going as fast as we can!" Officer Cackowski responded, finally adequately concerned about the situation.

After what felt like an eternity, the door finally swung open just in time for another loud cry to come from Annie's room. Jeff raced in that direction ahead of the police, stopping short as he reached the doorway, arriving just in time to witness Annie delivering a knock-out blow to the face of a dark haired man, laying limp on the floor.

"Holy crap," Jeff said in absolute shock. Annie looked up then, her face bright red and one eye already blackening, but in one piece as far as Jeff could tell.

"Jeff!" Annie exclaimed. She jumped to her feet and bolted across the room, launching herself into his arms as the police nudged past them, heading toward the now unconscious man on the floor.

"Collect that gun for evidence," Officer Cackowski advised his junior, pointing to Annie's gun that laid a few feet away from the man on the floor. He closed the gap between himself and the man, turning his beaten body onto his stomach and cuffing his hands behind his back.

"How?" Jeff asked, his voice barely a whisper. "How? Just... how?" Annie buried her face in his chest and said nothing. Jeff pulled slightly away, his hands on her arms so he could look at her.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you? If he touched you, I swear to God..."

"I'm fine, Jeff," she said, her voice suddenly weak. "He didn't hurt me. I'm fine." Jeff looked past her at the man slowly regaining consciousness as the junior officer kneeled on his back while Officer Cackowski looked through his wallet.

"Yeah," Jeff said, awe apparent in his voice. "You're fine," he repeated. "But how?!"

* * *

**  
The Next Day  
**  
"So wait. You're telling me that _Annie_ kicked his ass?" Troy asked, incredulity and amazement evident in his tone. "That's _AWESOME!"  
_  
Annie giggled, a black eye her only war wound from the encounter from the entire incident.

"But how?" Britta unknowingly asked the same question that Jeff had asked over and over again the night before. Jeff and Annie shared a small grin, Jeff's full of pride.

"Well, you guys know I take Karate," Annie explained, a little too modestly for Jeff's taste.

"Karate? Are you kidding me? Annie, that was some crazy Ninja, Kung Fu shit I saw when I walked in here last night." Annie blushed at the compliment.

"Who cares what it was? It was _awesome_!" Troy interjected once again.

"Awesome, yes. But I still don't understand how you managed to get the upper hand," Abed said, his voice clinical, though they could all see he was impressed. "He had you at gunpoint, didn't he?"

"Yes, but with _my gun_," Annie said, as if that was the answer to everything. Six sets of confused eyes met her gaze. "My gun needs a key to unlock it. A key that I keep on me at all times." Jeff attempted not to watch as she reached into her bra and pulled out a small silver key and displayed it for the group. "I knew that without the key, he wasn't going to be doing _any_shooting, and it was clear that he didn't know that. I simply used his ignorance to my advantage," she said with a satisfied smile.

"Yeah, his ignorance and your mad Kung Fu skills," Troy said appreciatively.

"Karate, Troy," she corrected.

"Whatever it was," Britta cut in again. She reached across the dining table and put her hand over Annie's. "We're all just really glad you're okay."

"Well, it wasn't just me," Annie said firmly. "If you hadn't told me about the guy in the parking lot, I never would have been on my guard, Britta." She turned to Jeff. "And if you hadn't been here with me all weekend, he probably would have caught me off guard before the police could get here. If that had happened, I think we'd be having a very different conversation right now."

"But that didn't happen," Jeff said seriously. "All that matters is that you're safe now. That scumbag is going to rot in jail, and you put him there." Annie grinned sheepishly,

"Thanks Jeff," she said quietly.

"I think this is deserving of a toast," Shirley said, holding up her glass of water while the rest held up various forms of liquor. "To Annie."

"To Annie," the group repeated, glasses clinking together in the middle of the table, after which Abed and Troy began regaling the group with stories of their Inspector Spacetime convention adventure. Jeff caught Annie's eye then. He leaned in close to whisper in her ear.

"Can we talk?" he asked. She caught the seriousness in his tone and nodded, pulling herself away from the table and heading toward the bathroom with Jeff in tow. She hadn't gone back into her bedroom the night before. Although she'd gotten the upper hand, it was all still too fresh in her mind for her to feel safe there.

Jeff closed the bathroom door behind them and moved to lean against the sink, arms crossed, while Annie stood in front of him.

"I didn't get a chance to thank you," Annie jumped in before he could start.

"You have no reason to thank me, Annie," Jeff said, a small frown on his lips. "I've been nothing but a jerk all weekend." Annie reached out and put a hand on his forearm.

"You were worried about me," she said. "I understand. If the situations were reversed, I'd probably be the same way." Jeff nodded slowly.

"I was so scared, Annie," he allowed. "The thought of that guy getting to you... the thought of him hurting you, or worse..."

"He didn't get a chance," she jumped in. Jeff reached out and rubbed the pad of his thumb lightly against the dark purple bruise over her eye.

"I wouldn't say that." Annie shook her head.

"It's a small price to pay for security, Jeff. You have to understand that." Jeff let his hand fall away, reaching instead to take hold of her hand.

"I do," he said. She seemed unconvinced. "Really, I do. I know I spent all weekend telling you that you were wrong and that this was a bad idea, but I do understand why you did it. And I'm sorry, Annie." He stopped a moment, gathering his thoughts. Annie let him do so, comforted by his thumb slowly rubbing circles against the back of her hand. "I'm so sorry I didn't have more faith in you. You deserve better."

"Jeff," she said in a whisper, taking a step closer. "What I deserve is to have friends who take care of me, even if that means telling me when they think I'm making a mistake. I need friends like you who won't let me go through these things alone." She stopped a moment, meeting Jeff's gaze. "I've spent a lot of time alone. There was a time when I would have gone through this alone too. The group changed that, Jeff. _You_changed that."

"I'll never leave you alone, Annie," he promised. "And I know I come off as overprotective, but that's just because I care about you." Annie smiled lightly at this.

"I know you do. And even though we may not have seen eye to eye this weekend, you should know that I care about you too. More than I can say." Jeff offered a crooked grin.

"Promise?" he questioned. She chuckled lightly.

"Scouts honour." Jeff let out a long breath, feeling lighter than he had moments earlier.

"Alright then," he pushed off of the sink, standing up to full height.

"So," she said, stepping even closer. She peered up at him from beneath her eyelashes. "Resolved?" Jeff rolled his eyes and pulled her into him, wrapping his arms tightly around her.

"One condition," he said over her head.

"What's that?" she mumbled against his chest.

"No more crazed stalkers," he said firmly. "At least for a little while." Annie laughed and hugged him a little tighter.

"You've got yourself a deal."  
**  
End**

* * *

_Holy hell, it's over. Thank god._

_Thanks again to claymay for giving me the push to finish this and the idea with which to do so. I can honestly say this would still be in limbo without him._

_Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed Annie kicking ass (she deserved that moment, guys)._


End file.
